A Philadelphia Story

Although held in members' homes, the discussions are quite a bit
more formal than those of other teacher groups. A chairperson begins
the discussion by raising a question. Teachers sit in a circle, and
each person participates. The chairperson summarizes, develops themes,
and tries to keep the discussion focused.

The Philadelphia teachers often conduct what they call a "staff
review,'' in which they focus on a given student, discussing his or her
strengths, weaknesses, interests, and relationships with adults and
peers. The teachers then try to develop strategies that will help the
student fulfill his or her potential. At one recent meeting, for
example, the group focused on one quiet but talented girl--all because
one teacher wanted to come up with some ways to help well-behaved girls
in her class excel in a room full of boisterous boys.

Sometimes, the group reflects on a child's classroom work--an essay,
a drawing, or even casual conversation--in order to understand a
problem, such as fighting, sadness, or stealing. The members take turns
describing the piece of writing, conversation, or art in hopes that the
discussion might shed some light on what is going on inside the
student.

The cooperative also touches on some broader issues, such as
standardized testing, classroom control, teacher research, equal
opportunity for children in education, and school-based
decisionmaking.

The group is truly a "cooperative'' in that all the members are
involved in choosing topics, collecting materials, and running the
meetings. Every two months, they hold a planning meeting to set an
agenda and to choose a chairperson for each meeting. Betsy Wice, a
reading teacher at Frederick Douglass Elementary School, says this kind
of cooperation makes the meetings very different from the more
traditional in-school staff meetings. "It's voluntary, and the format
encourages participation from everyone,'' she says. "There is a higher
level of trust.'' --E.S.

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